Microsoft outage updates: Schools, GPs and businesses hit - follow live

Microsoft says it's seeing "improvements" , with email queues "approaching normal levels", after a global outage hit Teams, Outlook and AI software Copilot

Microsoft says it's seeing "improvements" , with email queues "approaching normal levels", after a global outage hit Teams, Outlook and AI software Copilot

The company says there's no evidence of "malicious activity" and users may still have "intermittent access issues" - more than 20 hours since the outage began, our tech reporter explains the glitches your inbox may still be experiencing

The company says there's no evidence of "malicious activity" and users may still have "intermittent access issues" - more than 20 hours since the outage began, our tech reporter explains the glitches your inbox may still be experiencing

NHS England says the outage is "inevitably" disrupting staff but appointments can continue; schools have been asking parents to get in touch via phone; US federal government and court systems are also reporting issues

NHS England says the outage is "inevitably" disrupting staff but appointments can continue; schools have been asking parents to get in touch via phone; US federal government and court systems are also reporting issues

How many people are affected? What has the UK government said? We answer your questions

How many people are affected? What has the UK government said? We answer your questions

South African winemaker Peter Pentz tells us communication with exporters has been brought "to a standstill". Meanwhile, a group in London say they left the office because if emails weren't working "it was time to go to the pub"

South African winemaker Peter Pentz tells us communication with exporters has been brought "to a standstill". Meanwhile, a group in London say they left the office because if emails weren't working "it was time to go to the pub"

Have you been affected?

Edited by Jamie Whitehead and Manish Pandey, with technology reporters Tom Gerken, Shiona McCallum and Laura Cress

Archana Shukla Reporting from Singapore Some companies reporting quarterly financial results today are delaying their announcements. The Swiss luxury goods group, Richemont, that owns brands like Cartier and Chloé, said its half-year numbers will be delayed owing to the Microsoft service disruption. US electric truck maker Workhorse Group has also moved its quarterly report to week. sharing

Archana Shukla Reporting from Singapore

Some companies reporting quarterly financial results today are delaying their announcements.

The Swiss luxury goods group, Richemont, that owns brands like Cartier and Chloé, said its half-year numbers will be delayed owing to the Microsoft service disruption.

US electric truck maker Workhorse Group has also moved its quarterly report to week.

Freya Scott-Turner Live reporter Friday has been thrown into disarray for tens of thousands globally. The problem: a massive outage affecting multiple Microsoft services. Let's get up to speed: What's going on? Multiple Microsoft tools - including Teams, Outlook, Copilot and OneDrive - were hit with "connectivity problems" on Thursday, leaving many people unable to access them Microsoft stated that the cause was an overloading of some of its servers, after other ones had become "unexpectedly unavailable" There's seemingly been no quick fix. More than 16 hours later, Microsoft says it's seeing "early signs" of systems stabilising , but says capacity has "not yet returned to normal levels" The impact has been huge Microsoft hasn't disclosed exactly how many people are affected, but 430 million people use its tools. Tens of thousands across more than 70 countries have reported issues on Downdetector - but this is likely to be a vast underestimate Vital services in the UK have been disrupted - from the ambulance service , to GPs and pharmacists . While schools and police forces are telling people to call them, rather than getting in touch via email or online The UK government says it's "working closely" with Microsoft to assess the impact on its services - the BBC is told intelligence operations are unaffected 'Most disruptive' email outage ever It's "very rare" for an issue affecting this many people to take so long to be fixed, which could make it the "most disruptive" business email outage of all time, our technology report hears This incident highlights the risks faced by businesses that rely on a single technology provider for major operation needs, writes our Asia business producer sharing

Freya Scott-Turner Live reporter

Friday has been thrown into disarray for tens of thousands globally. The problem: a massive outage affecting multiple Microsoft services. Let's get up to speed:

Multiple Microsoft tools - including Teams, Outlook, Copilot and OneDrive - were hit with "connectivity problems" on Thursday, leaving many people unable to access them

Microsoft stated that the cause was an overloading of some of its servers, after other ones had become "unexpectedly unavailable"

There's seemingly been no quick fix. More than 16 hours later, Microsoft says it's seeing "early signs" of systems stabilising , but says capacity has "not yet returned to normal levels"

The impact has been huge

Microsoft hasn't disclosed exactly how many people are affected, but 430 million people use its tools. Tens of thousands across more than 70 countries have reported issues on Downdetector - but this is likely to be a vast underestimate

Vital services in the UK have been disrupted - from the ambulance service , to GPs and pharmacists . While schools and police forces are telling people to call them, rather than getting in touch via email or online

The UK government says it's "working closely" with Microsoft to assess the impact on its services - the BBC is told intelligence operations are unaffected

'Most disruptive' email outage ever

It's "very rare" for an issue affecting this many people to take so long to be fixed, which could make it the "most disruptive" business email outage of all time, our technology report hears

This incident highlights the risks faced by businesses that rely on a single technology provider for major operation needs, writes our Asia business producer

Georgia from Staffordshire says she was due to complete her first house purchase today, after waiting eight months to get to this point - but it has been delayed due to the outage. "The solicitor mentioned there may be a delay due to not being able to other agencies. We’re not the only one completing today, there are 100s of houses and for them to ring everyone in time is unfeasible," Georgia says. Banks and estate agencies have told the BBC they are having issues due to the outage. Housing author and journalist Peter Bill says: "Friday tends to be the day of completion for many sales, with 4pm being the deadline for the funds to be transferred, allowing the keys to be released to the buyer. "A single delay can break a whole chain of transactions. There will be a lot of heads being banged into a lot of walls today." sharing

Georgia from Staffordshire says she was due to complete her first house purchase today, after waiting eight months to get to this point - but it has been delayed due to the outage.

"The solicitor mentioned there may be a delay due to not being able to other agencies. We’re not the only one completing today, there are 100s of houses and for them to ring everyone in time is unfeasible," Georgia says.

Banks and estate agencies have told the BBC they are having issues due to the outage.

Housing author and journalist Peter Bill says: "Friday tends to be the day of completion for many sales, with 4pm being the deadline for the funds to be transferred, allowing the keys to be released to the buyer.

"A single delay can break a whole chain of transactions. There will be a lot of heads being banged into a lot of walls today."

Microsoft: 'We're lacking a clear, plain English post-mortem from Microsoft," technology reporter Chris Vallance says. What we do have, he says, is a confirmation from Microsoft that there's nothing malicious the incident. the scale: Jake Moore, a cyber-security adviser, says the scale of this outage is "absolutely massive" as Microsoft "sits at the heart of many businesses". He says we are "incredibly dependent on these particular [tech] giants", so we should make sure we have backups in place for when things go wrong - like access to WhatsApp, Slack or other messaging platforms. its impact on healthcare: Health reporter Jim Ree d says it is still early to assess what impact the outage is having on health services , but some appointments, such as c-sections, have been cancelled because so much of the NHS calendar is linked to diaries using the Microsoft system. Emergency and life-threatening callouts, like 999, are working as usual, Reed adds. And on the UK government: The government hasn't said much, political correspondent Iain Watson says, but it has been very keen to stress that the intelligence and security services are unaffected. sharing

Microsoft: 'We're lacking a clear, plain English post-mortem from Microsoft," technology reporter Chris Vallance says.

What we do have, he says, is a confirmation from Microsoft that there's nothing malicious the incident.

the scale: Jake Moore, a cyber-security adviser, says the scale of this outage is "absolutely massive" as Microsoft "sits at the heart of many businesses".

He says we are "incredibly dependent on these particular [tech] giants", so we should make sure we have backups in place for when things go wrong - like access to WhatsApp, Slack or other messaging platforms.

its impact on healthcare: Health reporter Jim Ree d says it is still early to assess what impact the outage is having on health services , but some appointments, such as c-sections, have been cancelled because so much of the NHS calendar is linked to diaries using the Microsoft system.

Emergency and life-threatening callouts, like 999, are working as usual, Reed adds.

And on the UK government: The government hasn't said much, political correspondent Iain Watson says, but it has been very keen to stress that the intelligence and security services are unaffected.

Maria Cassidy BBC Wales News A number of services in Wales have been impacted by the outage, including the Welsh government which said it is "using contingency arrangements as needed". It said: "We are monitoring the impact on government services and using contingency arrangements as needed." BBC News has asked the government for more information. A number of councils have also experience disruption. For those travelling, Transport for Wales said customers can still buy tickets although the email confirmation system isn't working and that they are currently looking at work arounds. The Welsh Local Government Association, which represents and supports councils, have said that things "remain under control" and with "no significant impact on services". It added that councils are using websites and social media to let residents know how to their services, which is mainly telephone. sharing

Maria Cassidy BBC Wales News

A number of services in Wales have been impacted by the outage, including the Welsh government which said it is "using contingency arrangements as needed".

It said: "We are monitoring the impact on government services and using contingency arrangements as needed."

BBC News has asked the government for more information.

A number of councils have also experience disruption.

For those travelling, Transport for Wales said customers can still buy tickets although the email confirmation system isn't working and that they are currently looking at work arounds.

The Welsh Local Government Association, which represents and supports councils, have said that things "remain under control" and with "no significant impact on services".

It added that councils are using websites and social media to let residents know how to their services, which is mainly telephone.

Barry O'Connor BBC News NI Northern Ireland is experiencing a similar situation to the rest of the world, as schools and councils have confirmed they have been impacted by the outage. The Education Authority, which oversees schools in Northern Ireland, have said: "Outlook is currently unavailable to NI schools and the Education Authority. Emails cannot currently be sent or received." Some councils have also said that their emails systems have been impacted. Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said that patient services are not impacted and the South Eastern Health Trust said there will be "no impact on clinical services". Queen's University Belfast also said they are experiencing email disruption. "Our students and staff are currently unable to receive or send emails and may experience difficulties accessing. "As always, staff and students should not use personal email accounts to send, receive or store university-related communications or information." sharing

Barry O'Connor BBC News NI

Northern Ireland is experiencing a similar situation to the rest of the world, as schools and councils have confirmed they have been impacted by the outage.

The Education Authority, which oversees schools in Northern Ireland, have said: "Outlook is currently unavailable to NI schools and the Education Authority. Emails cannot currently be sent or received."

Some councils have also said that their emails systems have been impacted.

Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said that patient services are not impacted and the South Eastern Health Trust said there will be "no impact on clinical services".

Queen's University Belfast also said they are experiencing email disruption.

"Our students and staff are currently unable to receive or send emails and may experience difficulties accessing.

"As always, staff and students should not use personal email accounts to send, receive or store university-related communications or information."

Katy Scott BBC Scotland news Some criminal and civil court cases have been delayed in Scotland, with the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service saying courts are open but some hearings have been affected due to "communications issues with justice partners". People are advised to check with their local court and monitor the website. Local authorities say emails and online forms have been affected and anyone who needs to a school has been urged to call or use any WhatsApp services in place. Police Scotland says it cannot receive any emails, and its online forms are affected. It warned there could be a delay in responding to forms submitted over the last 24 hours. Caledonian MacBrayne, which runs ferry services across the west Scotland, says booking confirmation emails may be delayed. Anyone travelling is urged to take note of their booking number after buying tickets online. Strathclyde Partnership for Travel, which runs the Glasgow subway and some buses in west Scotland, says it is also experiencing network issues due to the global outage. sharing

Katy Scott BBC Scotland news

Some criminal and civil court cases have been delayed in Scotland, with the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service saying courts are open but some hearings have been affected due to "communications issues with justice partners".

People are advised to check with their local court and monitor the website.

Local authorities say emails and online forms have been affected and anyone who needs to a school has been urged to call or use any WhatsApp services in place.

Police Scotland says it cannot receive any emails, and its online forms are affected. It warned there could be a delay in responding to forms submitted over the last 24 hours.

Caledonian MacBrayne, which runs ferry services across the west Scotland, says booking confirmation emails may be delayed.

Anyone travelling is urged to take note of their booking number after buying tickets online.

Strathclyde Partnership for Travel, which runs the Glasgow subway and some buses in west Scotland, says it is also experiencing network issues due to the global outage.

Tom Gerken Tech reporter For the past 12 hours, Microsoft has provided various updates focusing on the "stability" of its servers. First it was "returning a portion of affected servers to the service”, then six hours ago it was "continuing our efforts to improve server stability". In the past few hours, it was "seeing positive results", and "seeing early stabilisation and capacity improvements". At 10:30 GMT, it called it "incremental improvement". In other words, things are slow going. But there are signs that things may be better soon - it said "recovery actions" have been completed "across portions of the affected infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region". In that region, it says mailbox access is being improved - it is now working on extending that fix to other global regions. So there are good signs, but it’s impossible to say anything with certainty right now. sharing

Tom Gerken Tech reporter

For the past 12 hours, Microsoft has provided various updates focusing on the "stability" of its servers.

First it was "returning a portion of affected servers to the service”, then six hours ago it was "continuing our efforts to improve server stability". In the past few hours, it was "seeing positive results", and "seeing early stabilisation and capacity improvements".

At 10:30 GMT, it called it "incremental improvement". In other words, things are slow going.

But there are signs that things may be better soon - it said "recovery actions" have been completed "across portions of the affected infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region".

In that region, it says mailbox access is being improved - it is now working on extending that fix to other global regions.

So there are good signs, but it’s impossible to say anything with certainty right now.

We've just had an update from Microsoft, with the company saying it has made "additional progress toward service recovery". It says recovery actions have been completed across portions of affected infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region. In that region, the statement continues: "Traffic is being gradually restored, and we're seeing improvements in key customer scenarios, including mailbox access and delayed email processing. However, some users may continue to experience intermittent issues." The company says it is now extending recovery action to other regions. It say its priority is "reducing email queues and backlogs". It again says at this time there is "no evidence of malicious activity". sharing

We've just had an update from Microsoft, with the company saying it has made "additional progress toward service recovery".

It says recovery actions have been completed across portions of affected infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region.

In that region, the statement continues: "Traffic is being gradually restored, and we're seeing improvements in key customer scenarios, including mailbox access and delayed email processing. However, some users may continue to experience intermittent issues."

The company says it is now extending recovery action to other regions. It say its priority is "reducing email queues and backlogs".

It again says at this time there is "no evidence of malicious activity".

Cath Burns Health correspondent We have just heard from an NHS spokesperson who says the outage is "inevitably" disrupting staff. Several NHS trusts have also given updates on how their systems have been affected, with both Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust telling patients to attend appointments as usual. But Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust says it is experiencing significant disruption and some services might be more limited or not available. One GP told me: "Definitely attend your GP as normal." They say clinical work is the least affected part of the job. One GP says their text messaging system for contacting patients is down. Another messaged saying: "A lot of prescription requests and e-consults come via Outlook… when it comes back on it’ll be carnage!" Another concern is referrals. A family doctor says "all our referral letters (including 2 week wait cancer referrals) are on Word, so as a minimum I would expect this to cause delays." sharing

Cath Burns Health correspondent

We have just heard from an NHS spokesperson who says the outage is "inevitably" disrupting staff.

Several NHS trusts have also given updates on how their systems have been affected, with both Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust telling patients to attend appointments as usual.

But Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust says it is experiencing significant disruption and some services might be more limited or not available.

One GP told me: "Definitely attend your GP as normal."

They say clinical work is the least affected part of the job. One GP says their text messaging system for contacting patients is down.

Another messaged saying: "A lot of prescription requests and e-consults come via Outlook… when it comes back on it’ll be carnage!"

Another concern is referrals. A family doctor says "all our referral letters (including 2 week wait cancer referrals) are on Word, so as a minimum I would expect this to cause delays."

NHS England has issued a statement following reports of the Microsoft outage affecting its services. An NHS spokesperson says: “With the global Microsoft issue inevitably having a disruptive impact for staff, local NHS services are enacting long-standing measures to manage IT outages and ensure critical services and appointments can continue for patients today - including using other IT systems or paper records where possible." It says patients should continue to use 999 in an emergency, as well as using 111, 111 online, or their local pharmacy. The spokesperson adds patients should still come forward for appointments unless told otherwise. sharing

NHS England has issued a statement following reports of the Microsoft outage affecting its services.

An NHS spokesperson says: “With the global Microsoft issue inevitably having a disruptive impact for staff, local NHS services are enacting long-standing measures to manage IT outages and ensure critical services and appointments can continue for patients today - including using other IT systems or paper records where possible."

It says patients should continue to use 999 in an emergency, as well as using 111, 111 online, or their local pharmacy.

The spokesperson adds patients should still come forward for appointments unless told otherwise.

Recovery actions continue across Microsoft, the company says in its latest update, adding it is seeing "incremental improvement in several workloads". However, the statement adds "service health remains variable and capacity has not yet fully returned to baseline". "Network and traffic-management actions remain active." sharing

Recovery actions continue across Microsoft, the company says in its latest update, adding it is seeing "incremental improvement in several workloads".

However, the statement adds "service health remains variable and capacity has not yet fully returned to baseline".

"Network and traffic-management actions remain active."

Turning to resilience, global cybersecurity advisor Jake Moore says that to increase this we need to "load more servers". This is such a "data hungry world that we're living in", he says. "We need more space" to accommodate the amount that we are using. Moore adds that we are "incredibly dependent on these particular [tech] giants", so we should make sure we have backups in place for when things go wrong - like access to WhatsApp, Slack or other messaging platforms. Our experts have now finished answering your questions - we'll continue to bring you the latest as the outage continues. sharing

Turning to resilience, global cybersecurity advisor Jake Moore says that to increase this we need to "load more servers".

This is such a "data hungry world that we're living in", he says. "We need more space" to accommodate the amount that we are using.

Moore adds that we are "incredibly dependent on these particular [tech] giants", so we should make sure we have backups in place for when things go wrong - like access to WhatsApp, Slack or other messaging platforms.

Our experts have now finished answering your questions - we'll continue to bring you the latest as the outage continues.

Senior health reporter Jim Reed says he was speaking to the GMB Union earlier, which represents ambulance workers, paramedics and those that work with 999 calls. They say this is having a "serious impact", Reed says, as a lot of communication done with paramedics is done through email, and they're unable to refer patient details in the normal way. But they do say that emergency and life-threatening callouts, like 999, are working as usual, he adds. The Royal College of Paramedics says the dispatch system "seems to be working okay", and air ambulances are working fine as they use a different system, Reed adds. It will depend on where you live, Reed adds, and what technical systems those different trusts and services are using. sharing

Senior health reporter Jim Reed says he was speaking to the GMB Union earlier, which represents ambulance workers, paramedics and those that work with 999 calls.

They say this is having a "serious impact", Reed says, as a lot of communication done with paramedics is done through email, and they're unable to refer patient details in the normal way.

But they do say that emergency and life-threatening callouts, like 999, are working as usual, he adds.

The Royal College of Paramedics says the dispatch system "seems to be working okay", and air ambulances are working fine as they use a different system, Reed adds.

It will depend on where you live, Reed adds, and what technical systems those different trusts and services are using.

BBC health reporter Jim Reed says it is still early to asses what impact the outage is having on health services, but the NHS has said clinical and operation systems are working at the moment. He adds there have been examples of hospitals only accepting urgent referrals. Some appointments, such as c-sections, have been cancelled because so much of the NHS calendar is linked to diaries using the Microsoft system, he explains. He also says some hospitals have been moving back to pens and paper as part of their business continuity plans. "This is not everywhere across the NHS. It does depend on where you live and different hospitals have different systems in place." sharing

BBC health reporter Jim Reed says it is still early to asses what impact the outage is having on health services, but the NHS has said clinical and operation systems are working at the moment.

He adds there have been examples of hospitals only accepting urgent referrals.

Some appointments, such as c-sections, have been cancelled because so much of the NHS calendar is linked to diaries using the Microsoft system, he explains.

He also says some hospitals have been moving back to pens and paper as part of their business continuity plans.

"This is not everywhere across the NHS. It does depend on where you live and different hospitals have different systems in place."

On how many government services have been affected by this, political correspondent Iain Watson says the NHS has been "seriously impacted, including people leaving hospital for social care". He adds that border security services are fine and up and running, but there's been issues in Parliament, where some MPs are saying their emails are down, and telling their constituents to call their office rather than email with urgent issues. sharing

On how many government services have been affected by this, political correspondent Iain Watson says the NHS has been "seriously impacted, including people leaving hospital for social care".

He adds that border security services are fine and up and running, but there's been issues in Parliament, where some MPs are saying their emails are down, and telling their constituents to call their office rather than email with urgent issues.

Not much at the moment, political correspondent Iain Watson says. He says he's been touch with the Cabinet Office, which has a coordinating role across government to find out how departments might be affected. They've said they're aware of the ongoing technical issues and are working "closely" with Microsoft to assess any impact on government services, Watson says. But they also say they have "robust" contingency plans in place, but haven't said what those contingency plans are, he adds. The government is very keen to stress that the intelligence and security services are unaffected, adding that there's a "separate system for anything secret", Watson says. sharing

Not much at the moment, political correspondent Iain Watson says.

He says he's been touch with the Cabinet Office, which has a coordinating role across government to find out how departments might be affected.

They've said they're aware of the ongoing technical issues and are working "closely" with Microsoft to assess any impact on government services, Watson says.

But they also say they have "robust" contingency plans in place, but haven't said what those contingency plans are, he adds.

The government is very keen to stress that the intelligence and security services are unaffected, adding that there's a "separate system for anything secret", Watson says.

Jake Moore, a cyber-security adviser at internet security company ESET, says the scale of this outage is "absolutely massive". Moore says Microsoft "sits at the heart of many businesses" meaning disruption is "huge". Companies need to make sure they have resilience built in for situations such as this, he adds. "This elevated load that they talk is just one of those examples that we're going to see more and more in the future," he says. There needs to be resilience, he argues, which means extra server space and protections. sharing

Jake Moore, a cyber-security adviser at internet security company ESET, says the scale of this outage is "absolutely massive".

Moore says Microsoft "sits at the heart of many businesses" meaning disruption is "huge". Companies need to make sure they have resilience built in for situations such as this, he adds.

"This elevated load that they talk is just one of those examples that we're going to see more and more in the future," he says.

There needs to be resilience, he argues, which means extra server space and protections.

Asked if a cyber attack has been ruled out at this stage, senior technology reporter Chris Vallance says that Microsoft has stated that there's nothing malicious this incident. "When you look at outages of this kind, that affected a lot of different services, it's hard to think of one that was due to a cyber attack," he says. "Most of them have been due to things going wrong internally rather than malicious action," he says, so there's "certainly no reason to doubt" what Microsoft are saying at this stage. sharing

Asked if a cyber attack has been ruled out at this stage, senior technology reporter Chris Vallance says that Microsoft has stated that there's nothing malicious this incident.

"When you look at outages of this kind, that affected a lot of different services, it's hard to think of one that was due to a cyber attack," he says.

"Most of them have been due to things going wrong internally rather than malicious action," he says, so there's "certainly no reason to doubt" what Microsoft are saying at this stage.

"What we're lacking from Microsoft is a clear, plain English post mortem on what's going on", technology reporter Chris Vallance says. They may be a bit busy at the moment, to be fair, he adds. Vallance explains that the company has been posting on the Microsoft 365 status page a series of updates in quite technical language. They're saying they are having some impact in their mitigating measures, Vallance says, "but clearly we're hours on from something which started at 18:00 yesterday". "For something so critical that has affected key business software, that really is a long time for them not to be able to get things back on track." sharing

"What we're lacking from Microsoft is a clear, plain English post mortem on what's going on", technology reporter Chris Vallance says.

They may be a bit busy at the moment, to be fair, he adds.

Vallance explains that the company has been posting on the Microsoft 365 status page a series of updates in quite technical language.

They're saying they are having some impact in their mitigating measures, Vallance says, "but clearly we're hours on from something which started at 18:00 yesterday".

"For something so critical that has affected key business software, that really is a long time for them not to be able to get things back on track."